Gun control bill in peril

The tough gun-control bill that President Barack Obama wants now has little, if any, chance of passing this Congress – it’s struggling in the Senate and facing outright rejection in the House.

Vice President Joe Biden worked the phones Monday to try to salvage a bipartisan bill in the Senate but has come up short. Personal appeals from parents of Newtown victims and former Rep. Gabby Giffords haven’t worked either.

Obama: 'Unimaginable' Congress would 'defy' Americans on guns

This week on Capitol Hill

A defeat would mean that in just five months after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings, the best chance for new gun controls in 20 years is slipping away.

The reasons are many:

The National Rifle Association hasn’t budged, and it warned supporters of the compromise Senate bill — authored by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) — that the group would remember their vote when they are next up for reelection.